


Thrills and Chills

by orphan_account



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: M/M, Young Justice Halloween, halloween fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-19
Updated: 2014-09-19
Packaged: 2018-02-17 23:06:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2326418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Despite Bart's anticipation for the Team's Halloween party, Jaime can't help but wish they were hosting it somewhere warmer. Preferably in Hawaii. And somehow, spending the night listening to Michael Jackson's Thriller, and being surrounded by tacky pumpkin lights and black-and-orange decor, doesn't sound like the best way to spend Halloween. When Jaime arrives though, the party isn't at all what he expected. </p><p>Also titled the one where a fluke spell turns the Team into what they're dressed up as, and Bart happens to be wearing a hooker costume.<br/>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Thrills and Chills

A chill permeated the air, and the scent of rotting apples mingled with damp earth filled Jaime’s nostrils. The grass underfoot was brushed with delicate hints of frost, and clumps of golden brown leaves had settled on the ground. Shivering involuntarily, he silently wished that the Team had had the foresight to host the Halloween party somewhere warmer. Preferably in Hawaii. With zeta-tubes it wasn’t like it was difficult traveling long distance.

"Come on her-man-oh," Bart said from several feet ahead of Jaime, "this is going to be so crash!" Bart was continuously speeding up and slowing down, almost as if he had trouble remembering that Jaime couldn’t match his speed.

"I’m sure it’ll be crash, ese," Jaime sighed, his breath fogging out in front, "but I promised to take Milagro trick-or-treating."

"You’ll come after, though? Right?" he asked, backtracking to walk at Jaime’s side."The party goes til midnight and you can’t just _not_ show up!”

"Wouldn’t miss it," Jaime promised. Apparently, it was the Team’s tradition to hold an annual Halloween party. This year would be both Jaime and Bart’s first time attending, given that Blue Beetle had only joined the Team last December, and Impulse had arrived in the past close to the end of February. In the past, the Halloween party had been held at the Cave, but now that it was a smoldering pile of ruin, and they couldn’t exactly throw a party at the Watchtower without having chaperones, they had decided to hold it at an "authentic Haunted House".

But when the run-down, Victorian style building came into view, however, Jaime couldn’t help but feel a bit underwhelmed. With battered shutters, a weathered walkway, and ivy climbing up the sides of the walls, it seemed just a bit too cheesy, like a scene taken straight out of a cheap horror flick. Bart didn’t share Jaime’s opinion in the slightest.

"Crash!" he exclaimed, tugging on Jaime’s hand to pull him forwards. Jaime felt an unmistakable blush creep across the back of his neck at the prolonged contact, but Bart didn’t seem to notice. Without another word, they walked up the front steps. The wooden boards of the veranda groaned under their combined weight, and the front door looked like a gust of wind could knock it over.

"Hey, look, Gar, Roy, and Tim are already here," Bart exclaimed, blurring ahead before rejoining Jaime.

"Which Roy?"

"Uh, Arsenal. Surprised he’s spending quality time with the Team, but I think Nightwing blackmailed him into coming."

"Hey, guys," Gar called from the kitchen, waving around a knife that had a mess of orange colored pulp and seeds dripping off the end of it, "up for a pumpkin carving contest?" 

"You are so on!" Bart said, his enthusiasm unwavering.

Gar and Tim were both sitting at a mahogany table, where an array of pumpkin carving tools had been laid out. Roy was loitering by the cabinets, his shoulders slouched and eyebrows drawn into a look of disdain. Or possibly indifference. It was hard to tell when the guy’s default expression seemed to be unadulterated rage. Jaime took a seat beside Bart, feeling awkward as he began removing pulp from one of the uncarved pumpkins.

"You call that a pumpkin carving contest?" Roy challenged, which was surprising because he looked like he really didn’t care. "Aren’t you going to have a bet on who finishes first, or something? At least try to make this interesting."

Gar flashed a mischievous grin, “how ‘bout, loser has to do whatever the winner says.”

"Real original terms," Roy deadpanned. Everyone else dutifully ignored him. 

"You’re on," Bart nodded, causing strands of his floppy brown hair to fall into his face. Jaime’s fingers twitched, and he had to force himself not to brush the loose strands aside. "Oh, and Jaime’s on my team."

"I get Tim, then. You want to join in, Arsenal?" 

Roy stared at the pumpkins as if they'd personally offended him, before shaking his head. With a shrug, Bart selected a knife and began carving. After nicking himself when he tried carving at superspeed, the speedster opted to carve at a relatively normal pace. Tim delved into his utility belt—which, really? Didn’t he ever leave it at home?— and pulled out a curved knife which he seemed comfortable using to carve. Jaime debated using his Beetle armor to try carving, but ultimately decided against it. 

After a few minutes, Gar announced, “finished!” to which Tim smirked with a casual, “what took you so long?” Jaime finished next, and Bart was last.

"Feeling slow today, Kidflash?" Gar asked.

"Perfection takes time, my good friend. Behold, my greatest master piece." Waving his hand with a flourish, he turned the pumpkin so that everyone else could see it. It had the Flash insignia carved in it. Turning to Jaime he asked, “what do you think, ca-ree-no?”

Jaime spluttered, and his voice came out an octave higher than normal.”C-cariño? Bart do you, uh, do you even know what that means?”

"Sure, it means, like, the same thing as her-man-oh, or amigo," he answered, completely butchering the Spanish words. Jaime winced at his poor pronunciation. "Gar told me," he added.

Jaime turned to glare at the changeling, who gave an innocent, gap-toothed smile back.

"It is nice," Gar answered for Jaime, "but Tim and I finished carving before you and Jaime, so as punishment," he leaned forward to whisper something to Bart, whose cheeks reddened slightly.

"Where do they even sell those kinds of—" Bart started.

"—I think I might know a place," Zatanna called jauntily from the doorway. She and Raquel each carried an armful of decorations, including fake cobwebs and a string of plastic pumpkin lights.

"How did you hear us?" Gar asked. Jaime was wondering the same thing. He hadn’t even heard was Gar had whispered to Bart. Zatanna flashed them an impish smirk, her deep blue eyes twinkling. "Eavesdropping spell. Really came in handy during my teen years."

"Right," Bart coughed, and Jaime was surprised that he actually seemed a bit flustered. "But what about Jaime’s, er, punishment?"

Jaime shot him a look. “Thanks, Bart,” he muttered sarcastically. 

"Oh," Gar said, sharing a look with Tim, "I’d say that’s punishment enough for him as well." 

Trying to change the subject, Bart asked, “well what are you guys going as?”

Raquel answered that she was going as the grim reaper, Gar was simply transforming into a wolf, Tim was going as a ghost, and Zatanna as a sorceress.

"Sorceress, huh?" Bart asked. "Isn’t that like going as yourself?"

"I really don’t think you’re in any place to judge her costume," Raquel said with a teasing inflection in her voice. Jaime raised an eyebrow. 

Zatanna offered a light laugh, before saying, “well I got a really cool new necklace to go with it.” Delving into her pocket, Zatanna held up an opalescent gem that was affixed to a silver cord. It had a lustrous sheen that caught the light, giving the impression that it was glowing. 

"I’m going as a vampire," Jaime answered with a shrug, after they’d glanced over Zatanna’s necklace.

Zatanna and Raquel both laughed. “Well that was a disappointing reaction. Heavy on the dis.”

"Show it to Cassie," Tim suggested, his arms folded across his chest, "she’s more of a fangirl." 

"Ooh, Cas is coming?" Gar elbowed Tim in the ribs. "Who else?"

"Mal and Karen are staying in for the night, but Artemis is coming, and M’gann will probably drag Conner along. Now come on, we need to finish decorating. Dick is probably got other plans for most of the evening, but he’ll show up sooner or later." 

They spent the next hour or so decorating, before Gar, Bart, and Tim left to get Bart’s costume. Jaime offered to come along, but they insisted he stayed. 

"Sorry I’m late!" a cheerful voice resounded from the front door a good half hour later. Jaime headed to the main foyer to greet M’gann, who was levitating several plates of cookies glossed with black-and-orange icing.

"Hey, M’gann," Jaime said.

"Jaime," she said warmly, "how are you? And where’s Bart?"

"Why would you think that I’d know where Bart is?" he blurted defensively.

"Oh. Well," she said meekly, caught off guard by his tone, "you two do spend a lot of time together. Do you want to try a cookie?"

Blushing, Jaime took one from the tray. [Careful, Jaime Reyes. The Miss Martian could be attempting to poison us. I must analyze the food contents. Detecting lipids, carbohydrates, thickening agents including flour—] "Be quiet, ese," Jaime hissed, unsuccessfully attempting to quiet the scarab. M’gann’s eyebrows jumped in surprise, but she didn’t seem all too surprised by Jaime’s outburst. 

"Well, I’m just going to take these to the kitchen…"

Jaime watched her leave, before catching a blur of movement from the window. Gar, Tim, and Bart were crossing the front lawn. Taking a bite of his cookie, Jaime headed out to meet them. The front door groaned and creaked as it closed behind him. He eyed Gar and Tim’s costumes, before glancing at Bart’s, and… promptly choking on the rest of his cookie.

"What are you wearing?" Jaime crowed, coughing into his arm. 

"Hooker outfit," Bart sounded vaguely hurt at Jaime’s shocked tone, "you don’t like it?" He examined himself,the musculature in his stomach flexing. Jaime gulped, his mouth suddenly dry at the sight of Bart in, well, practically nothing, except for a skimpy dress, and fishnet leggings. How come he hadn’t noticed before how long Bart’s legs were? 

"I um…"

"Oh, hey," Bart cut in, his train of thought jumping to a different topic, "you’re still taking Milagro trick-or-treating, right? Maybe I could come?" he suggested brightly.

"No! I mean," Jaime fingered the hem of his shirt, "not wearing that. There’ll be… little kids around," he mumbled. 

From behind Bart’s back, Gar flashed him a thumbs up, and even Tim looked amused, though it was difficult to tell with his glasses on. 

"Speaking of which, I should probably get going. It’s, uh, almost five, and Milagro’s probably been wearing her Green Lantern costume for hours. I’ll meet you guys back here later, though."

—-

After he’d finished taking Milagro around the neighborhood, Jaime dropped his hermana off at home and suited up. She’d complained that she wasn’t tired yet, which he believed, given the rush she was probably getting off all the candy she’d eaten. Truth be told, Jaime wouldn’t have minded switching places with her. It was barely after nine O’clock and he was already bone-tired. The lack of sleep due to school and Team business seemed to be finally catching up to him. Still, he’d promised he’d be there, and it wasn’t like he’d have to stay too long.

The Haunted House looked starkly different at night than it had during the day. The sky overhead was overcast and tinged red, and lightning flashed periodically, probably due to one of Zatanna’s enchantments. Despite that he totally wasn’t in the mood for partying, Jaime had to admit he was impressed. The spooky atmosphere didn’t dissipate as he entered the house, and he was surprised to find the lights were off. “Uh, hello?” He was met with silence.

Morphing his hand into a plasma cannon, Jaime used the blue glow to light up the foyer. He could just barely detect a scuffling noise from the adjacent room, so he entered cautiously. 

"Bart," Jaime acknowledged, feeling some of the tension bleed from his shoulders. "Where is everyone?

"Oh, they’re around."

There was something different about Bart’s voice, something that Jaime couldn’t quite place. The lighting in this room was dim, creating a sort of ambiance, but it was nice to know that the power wasn’t out, or anything. The only furnishings in the room were a love seat and a coffee table with fake cobwebs intricately tangled around it. And a television screen. Obviously, the Haunted House wasn’t as old as he’d initially thought. 

"Hey," Bart said in a sultry voice, instantly recapturing Jaime’s attention. "I missed you earlier." There was something different about the way Bart was walking towards him, his hips swaying in a sensual curve. Or maybe it was where Bart had placed his hands. He was fidgeting, as usual, but now his hands trailed up his thighs, directing attention from his long legs to his partially bare chest.

[Jaime Reyes, I am detecting signs of arousal.]

"Uh, s-so is everyone else, like, upstairs, or something?"

Bart’s eyes traveled up Jaime’s body, roaming shamelessly. “Why,” he said finally, about an eternity later. “do you only seem to want to talk about everyone else?” 

"Um," Jaime murmured, struggling to find words. His brain had been reduced to mush at the sight of Bart wearing next to nothing. This wasn’t at all how he’d envisaged the Halloween party. He’d been expecting, well, other people for starters, and music playing in the background, and, well, not this. Not that he was complaining, exactly.

"Wanna sit?" Bart asked, gesturing to the loveseat. ‘No, couch,’ Jaime told himself fervently. He was not going to refer to a chair he’d be sitting on with Bart as a ‘loveseat’. Things were awkward enough, thank you. 

Jaime managed a nod. “Do you… want to watch TV?” his voice sounded strained, even to his own ears, and he cringed internally.

"I was thinking we could do something else." Bart said, each word measured carefully, as he observed Jaime’s reaction. The problem was, Jaime didn’t have a reaction. How was he supposed to react? It seemed almost like Bart was flirting with him. Jaime was fairly sure Bart was flirting with him, though he couldn’t be entirely certain. It wasn’t just the tone; it was the way Bart was looking at him. His green eyes were half-lidded, though to be fair, it was pretty late, and Bart had only recently turned fourteen, so it was likely that he was simply tired. But then Bart’s eyes dropped to Jaime’s lips, and there was no mistaking what was going on.

[Jaime Reyes, the Kidflash wishes to engage in lewd conduct with you.] Jaime was about to make a snide remark to Khaji Da — who seriously knew how to kill the mood — when Bart bridged the gap between them, slotting their mouths together. And, oh. Oh. They were kissing. Jaime felt lightheaded, like this was all an out of body experience. They were kissing. Should they even be kissing? Bart was younger, but he’d been through so much in his timeline, that it was hard to remember the three year age gap between them. He seemed so much older in those moments where Jaime would catch him off guard. Stripped of innocence, and forced to mature before he was ready. Nothing about this seemed wrong, but maybe that was because Jaime had wanted it for so long.

Bart made a noise in the back of his throat, and Jaime’s train of though fizzled out. Bart’s body was warm and solid beneath Jaime’s palms as he smoothed his hands up and down Bart’s sides. One of the first things a teenager learns is that when your unrequited crush tries to stick their tongue down your throat, you go with it, so maybe that's why Jaime didn't question why Bart kissing him out of the blue.

The kiss was hurried and rushed, but what Bart lacked in finesse, he made up in enthusiasm. Jaime tilted his head to a different angle, noting each of the noises Bart made as they kissed. He'd imagined this before, but he'd never considered how Bart's lips would feel; soft, but chapped at the same time. He was mildly surprised that Gar hadn't forced Bart to wear some sort of cheap flavored lip gloss to go with his costume. Not that he minded. He was fine kissing Bart either way. 

No sooner had Jaime pulled back for air, when he felt a hand slip under his shirt, and nails rake lightly down his stomach. "B-Bart," he gasped, in a broken note. "Are you sure we should..." 

Bart didn't seem to hear him, though, and his hands were travelling all along his body, as if he couldn't decide where he wanted to place them. Something coiled in Jaime's stomach, and he felt like he was going to be sick when someone materialized through through the ceiling. 

The person was pearly and translucent, his mouth set into a grim expression. 

"Tim?" Jaime asked incredulously. 

"This," Red Robin sighed from where he was floating, "is what you miss when you're late."

**Author's Note:**

> I don't really know what this is, to be honest, but I started this some time last year, and Halloween's coming up soon, so... 
> 
> Inspired by the Halloween episode of BtVS.


End file.
